1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a display system for providing collision avoidance information to a driver of a vehicle, and more particularly, to a display for use in heavy vehicles representing a plurality of monitored areas around the vehicle which indicates the presence of one or more objects at a specific location within the monitored areas, as well as the relative movement of objects through the monitored areas, to provide the driver with an accurate representation of the location and movement of nearby objects relative to the heavy vehicle.
2) Description of Related Art
The prior art discloses various blind spot detection systems that warn the driver of a vehicle that another vehicle or obstacle is in close proximity. Blind spots are areas of limited driver vision around the vehicle and are typically defined by regions to the side and rear of the vehicle in which the driver is not able to clearly view approaching obstacles in the vehicle's mirrors. These blind spots are notably more present in heavy vehicles such as large trucks, tractor-trailers, emergency and specialty vehicles, recreation vehicles, and the like.
The blind spot indicators of the prior art largely consist of simple audio or visual alarms that only warn the driver that an object is in proximity to the vehicle. Some systems provide slightly more information, such as distance to the object. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,734,336 discloses a collision avoidance system that includes a mirror display having a plurality of light emitting diodes (LEDs) that indicate distance between the vehicle and an object in the vehicle's path. The LEDs are spaced apart in a linear arrangement and illuminated sequentially to indicate distance to the object. The LEDs may also be colored to indicate changes in distance.
Another example is U.S. Pat. No. 6,363,326 which discloses a method and apparatus for detecting an object on a side or back of a vehicle. The system includes a display unit including a power on LED, a second LED indicating an obstacle being detected, and a third LED indicating that no obstacle is being detected. The LEDs may also be colored yellow, green, and red to indicate the various sensing conditions.
These methods may be sufficient when the blind spot area to cover is small, or when no discrimination between objects is desired. However, for larger vehicles, or when greater detection ranges are required to cover larger areas, such as along the side of a tractor-trailer, it would be useful to discern between multiple objects and their relative position and movement to the large vehicle within a monitored area. Currently, the prior art does not teach providing an LED or like display which shows the position and relative movement of objects within a monitored area in relation to the vehicle, or which is capable of tracking and displaying information on multiple objects simultaneously.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a collision avoidance display system that detects the position of at least one object in a monitored area, such as a blind spot area.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a collision avoidance display system that is also capable of visually displaying to the driver the location of objects within the monitored area adjacent the vehicle.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a collision avoidance display system that is also capable of indicating to the driver the relative movement of objects within the monitored area adjacent the vehicle.
It is also a further object of the present invention to provide a collision avoidance display system including a detector display having visual indicators arranged into a pattern representing the physical configuration of the monitored area adjacent the vehicle so that an accurate representation to the driver of the vehicle can be made as to the location and movement of vehicles and other objects within the monitored area.